SPRINGDALE — Police arrested two teenagers in connection with a possibly gang-related shooting on June 27 that left one man injured, they announced Thursday.
A 15-year-old boy was arrested in connection with attempted capital murder, and a 17-year-old girl was arrested in connection with being an accomplice to attempted capital murder, according to a release from Springdale Police. The department didn’t release any other information about the pair, citing their ages.
The two were arrested more than two weeks after a Hispanic male shot Chad Newman, 22, twice in the stomach at Park Street Laundry near the Springdale Municipal Airport, according to an affidavit for the boy’s arrest warrant filed Monday in Washington County Circuit Court.
While being treated at the hospital, Newman told police he and a friend were riding bicycles down Park Street before the incident when his friend started yelling out a gang term, according to the affidavit. Newman said his friend was a member of the Bloods gang.
A Hispanic male on a scooter pulled in front of them and made gang sign gestures at them, Newman told police. A girl was riding with him.
Newman told police he believed the male mentioned “being MS13,” according to the affidavit. The nickname refers to the predominantly Central American Mara Salvatrucha gang, according to the FBI.
The male waved a gun around, then hit Newman in the face with either the weapon or his fist, Newman told police. Newman told police he got the male in a headlock before the male shot him twice.
If the incident was gang-related, it’s the latest in several recent gang-related shootings in Springdale. Hector Vega, 21, was sentenced to 55 years in prison Thursday in connection with shooting a 16-year-old in June 2015.